Lula and I are currently on vacation in the US. In preparation for our outbound flight from Hamburg, we scheduled an appointment for screening. This allowed us to enter the security area through a side entrance, bypassing hundreds of travelers who did not have an appointment. All we had to do was swipe our boarding passes on an electronic reader in the designated area and a gate opened, allowing us in. After we had entered the screening area, I noticed a woman repeatedly swipe her boarding pass over the reader, trying to get in. But for whatever reason, the gate would not open. A less-than-helpful man commented with a smirk, “That machine only works for special people. It will not open up for just anyone.” With a despairing look on her face, the woman asked him, “What do I have to do to be special?” Her question reminded me of the rich young man who inquired of Jesus: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10; Luke 18). The man was actually missing the point because Jesus has raised the bar for human behavior so high that it is impossible to be special and thus get to heaven simply by “doing things.” But if you believe in Jesus Christ and are baptized, He bestows His righteousness on you and thus *makes* you special. As Genesis 15:6 teaches: “[Abraham] believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” So, even if you forgot to schedule an appointment for your security screening, if you believe in Jesus, He will make you special in the Father’s eyes—and the gate to heaven will open for you.
The Tiews in Germany 